In Search of XP Applications Will Microsoft's New OS Attract New Programs, Or Just the Usual Suspects? Eric Grevstad
Mon 10/29/01 -- Sometimes backward compatibility isn't quite as much fun as starting from scratch: Microsoft releases a whole new operating system in Windows XP, but there's next to no talk about "new XP software" akin to Mac fans' breathless wait for OS X applications.
Since Windows XP is at heart just a 5.1 release of Windows 2000, it simply runs existing Win 2000 and 98 programs (though rather more of the latter than Win 2000 does). Microsoft's released Office XP already, and its annual polishes of programs like Publisher and Picture It are named 2002, not XP.
The Windows XP Start menu features a Windows Catalog link to a Microsoft Web site listing available software and hardware, but it needs work -- mini-ads for Microsoft partners who've been granted the "Designed for Windows XP" logo, a scattering of other, older programs like "Lotus 1/2/2003" (apparently the data entry was done in Excel?), and many offerings that have nothing to do with the category you're browsing, such as Executive Software's Diskeeper defragmentation utility under Sound and Music Production.
Well, we've got a new OS and we want some new software, dammit, so we've conducted a quick survey of third-party announcements and offerings since Win XP's debut last week. The more than 20 results below confirmed our expectations, with only a handful of genuinely new programs, but a bunch of worthwhile upgrades and bargain discount offers. And if you haven't bought that new PC with XP yet, most will work fine on your Win 98 or 2000 system.
Utilities
Any new operating system requires updated antivirus and firewall programs, so it's no surprise to see the leading virus fighters jockeying for market- and mindshare among Windows XP users. Indeed, two prominent antivirus vendors have teamed up with two prominent memory sellers to give Win XP more headroom as well as germ protection: Through January 2002, PNY Technologies Inc. and Symantec are offering a free 256MB PC133 SDRAM module and Norton AntiVirus 2002 software via mail-in rebate to customers who buy Windows XP Professional.
Similarly, customers who buy Windows XP Home Edition and McAfee Consumer Products' VirusScan, or Win XP Pro alone, can get a free 128MB memory module -- and those who buy Win XP Pro and McAfee Internet Security 4.0 earn a free 256MB module -- from Kingston Technology. The mail-in rebates are available through December 31, 2001 at OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Best Buy stores.
McAfee's online arm McAfee.com has launched VirusScan Online for Windows XP, the first Web-based security service designed specifically for the new operating system. Using the look and feel of the XP interface -- and its controversial Passport and .Net login and ID services -- VirusScan Online will offer protection from virulent code for $25 per year or $40 for two years, including the option of being alerted to virus outbreaks via cell phone, pager, or pop-ups on the Windows XP desktop as well as via e-mail.
Whether it's a virus attack, hard disk crash, or some other catastrophe, not even XP's System Restore and File Protection are substitutes for regularly backing up your data. So Dantz Development Corp. has issued a free upgrade from Retrospect Backup 5.5 to 5.6, adding support for Windows XP Home Edition and Professional as well as new storage devices. Best of all, a free 30-day trial lets users back up their systems before installing the new OS.
An even cooler and safer way to test a new operating system, or its compatibility with your in-house applications, is to try it in a virtual machine, using a utility that lets you run multiple OSes on one computer (preferably one with lots of memory and hard disk space).
Such tools let IT professionals or software developers switch from one environment to another -- Win XP, Win 2000, Win 98 or 95, various flavors of Linux, even DOS or OS/2 -- with the click of a mouse instead of a complex and time-consuming dual-boot or multi-partition setup. The new, XP-compatible VMware Workstation 3.0 from VMware is $299; Connectix' updated Virtual PC for Windows 4.2 is $199 and offers a free 45-day evaluation.
